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Thread: “Duty” Gun Red Dot Glock Setup?

  1. #1

    “Duty” Gun Red Dot Glock Setup?

    I’ve avoided red dots on handguns until now. I have great vision, have no problem focusing on the front site, I don’t compete, I’m not a cop, and the iron sights on my glock 43 or 19 are good enough for CCW for my needs.

    But, now I have night vision, and with events of 2020 I’m more interested in preparedness setups that involve gear and a long gun. So what I’m looking to do is take a glock 19 or glock 17, since I’m comfortable with glocks and have lots of mags, and put a red dot on it, for a “tactical holster” setup, which I refer to as a “duty” setup in a respectful way since it’s what I imagine a SWAT officer might use as a secondary.

    The reasons I avoided red dots on handguns up until now:

    1. Some of them required re-zeroing after changing batteries and I frequently get busy with work/family and can go 6 months without time to hit the range. So it can be a huge hassle to re-zero.

    2. Issues with water/rain, something about open emitters.

    3. In the past, required custom slide milling which seemed like a huge hassle. And was specific to the optic I bought. And with tech constantly evolving, I’d need a new slide to mill around a future optic every 5 years or so.

    4. Some of them can’t be left constantly on at all times and require you to push the on button once every 12 hours or something.

    5. My threat model doesn’t have me making 100 yard terrorist shots at the shopping mall. And iron sights seem perfectly acceptable for my likely threat model of under 5 yards. So the costs and trade offs and hassle of red dots didn’t make sense before.

    But now I have night vision and I don’t want to get an IR laser for my handgun. I think I’d rather have a red dot optic.

    I’ve only been casually following the red dot handgun market, and the idea of the glock MOS is appealing because it’s supposed to be a generic milled-area with ability to have new plates made to work with any future optic.

    I love micro aimpoints, so if I can put an aimpoint T1 on a new glock MOS, which means I can change batteries without re-zeroing because the battery is on the side, no problem with water since it’s a closed system, and the biggest if, if I can get a nice holster, like a safariland retention holster that works with a glock + aimpoint micro, then it seems like it’s the way to go for me with my desire to LARP with night vision and have a red dot gun on a “war belt”

    It’s not clear to me if it’s possible to put a T1 on a glock MOS and it’s not clear if safariland makes holsters that would support that.

    If I have to get a glock milled to take a T1, I would still consider it in spite of the hassle since I suspect the T1 will last the rest of my expected life (30 years) or at least there will be a new model that fits the footprint or new-old-stock available to buy and replace. But if a standard holster doesn’t exist, I don’t want to deal with getting the milling and then shipping the gun to a holster maker because this seems like a 12 month or longer proposition.

    If this just all sounds ridiculous and a lot of custom effort needed, then I think a surefire with IR laser might be the way I go and just stick to irons on top. The only dual vis/IR surefire is huge and has a weird bulky shape. And the idea of zeroing an IR-only laser without a slaved visible laser seems like a hassle. But, perhaps I can buy a visible bore laser, and under NODs, adjust the bore laser to match the IR laser at a known distance in a backyard without shooting live ammo. Although maybe the visible bore laser will bloom under NODs too much and I’m not sure if an IR bore laser exists (I assume not).

    Geiselle’s wife’s company, ALG makes a “6 second mount” that lets you put an aimpoint micro on a floating rail but I doubt holsters exist for this. Although I guess I could ship just the 6 second mount plus aimpoint to a holster maker for a custom holster without needing to ship a gun and they can put it on top of their own glock.

    I guess what I really want is the lowest hassle/effort way of using a handgun with NODs that doesn’t require enthusiast-level work that minimizes custom stuff because I’ve been down that road in the past and I’m over it.
    Last edited by Sanch; 03-01-2021 at 01:21 AM.

  2. #2
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    Quote Originally Posted by Sanch View Post
    I’ve avoided red dots on handguns until now. I have great vision, have no problem focusing on the front site, I don’t compete, I’m not a cop, and the iron sights on my glock 43 or 19 are good enough for CCW for my needs.

    But, now I have night vision, and with events of 2020 I’m more interested in preparedness setups that involve gear and a long gun. So what I’m looking to do is take a glock 19 or glock 17, since I’m comfortable with glocks and have lots of mags, and put a red dot on it, for a “tactical holster” setup, which I refer to as a “duty” setup in a respectful way since it’s what I imagine a SWAT officer might use as a secondary.

    The reasons I avoided red dots on handguns up until now:

    1. Some of them required re-zeroing after changing batteries and I frequently get busy with work/family and can go 6 months without time to hit the range. So it can be a huge hassle to re-zero.

    2. Issues with water/rain, something about open emitters.

    3. In the past, required custom slide milling which seemed like a huge hassle. And was specific to the optic I bought. And with tech constantly evolving, I’d need a new slide to mill around a future optic every 5 years or so.

    4. Some of them can’t be left constantly on at all times and require you to push the on button once every 12 hours or something.

    5. My threat model doesn’t have me making 100 yard terrorist shots at the shopping mall. And iron sights seem perfectly acceptable for my likely threat model of under 5 yards. So the costs and trade offs and hassle of red dots didn’t make sense before.

    But now I have night vision and I don’t want to get an IR laser for my handgun. I think I’d rather have a red dot optic.

    I’ve only been casually following the red dot handgun market, and the idea of the glock MOS is appealing because it’s supposed to be a generic milled-area with ability to have new plates made to work with any future optic.

    I love micro aimpoints, so if I can put an aimpoint T1 on a new glock MOS, which means I can change batteries without re-zeroing because the battery is on the side, no problem with water since it’s a closed system, and the biggest if, if I can get a nice holster, like a safariland retention holster that works with a glock + aimpoint micro, then it seems like it’s the way to go for me with my desire to LARP with night vision and have a red dot gun on a “war belt”

    It’s not clear to me if it’s possible to put a T1 on a glock MOS and it’s not clear if safariland makes holsters that would support that.

    If I have to get a glock milled to take a T1, I would still consider it in spite of the hassle since I suspect the T1 will last the rest of my expected life (30 years) or at least there will be a new model that fits the footprint or new-old-stock available to buy and replace. But if a standard holster doesn’t exist, I don’t want to deal with getting the milling and then shipping the gun to a holster maker because this seems like a 12 month or longer proposition.

    If this just all sounds ridiculous and a lot of custom effort needed, then I think a surefire with IR laser might be the way I go and just stick to irons on top. The only dual vis/IR surefire is huge and has a weird bulky shape. And the idea of zeroing an IR-only laser without a slaved visible laser seems like a hassle. But, perhaps I can buy a visible bore laser, and under NODs, adjust the bore laser to match the IR laser at a known distance in a backyard without shooting live ammo. Although maybe the visible bore laser will bloom under NODs too much and I’m not sure if an IR bore laser exists (I assume not).

    Geiselle’s wife’s company, ALG makes a “6 second mount” that lets you put an aimpoint micro on a floating rail but I doubt holsters exist for this. Although I guess I could ship just the 6 second mount plus aimpoint to a holster maker for a custom holster without needing to ship a gun and they can put it on top of their own glock.

    I guess what I really want is the lowest hassle/effort way of using a handgun with NODs that doesn’t require enthusiast-level work that minimizes custom stuff because I’ve been down that road in the past and I’m over it.
    Your concept is ridiculous. Even if your gear set up is hassle free fighting with NVGs is not. That said:

    The Aimpoint Micros use a rotating rheostat to adjust brightness. It does not tolerate the G forces generated by a pistol slide. It’s only a matter of time before the rheostat fails under recoil.

    Practical issues aside the 6 second mount is out of production and practically a collectible at this point.

    If you want an Aimpoint, get and MOS Glock and an ACRO and change batteries monthly.

    Otherwise, get a Glock MOS and and RMR 06/07 - use the C&H precision or forward controls - mount per the directions with the plate or per the sticky.

    Glock sells two factory direct milled options in Europe - the MOS 2 and the MOS 3, One is milled for the RMR foot print, one for the Leupold DPP foot print.

    These may become available in the US soon. But until they do, the MOS with the C&H or FCD plate it the best option.

  3. #3
    6 second mounts are difficult to find now, mostly because the concept is a bit dated. They were used by Army CAG at least breifly, and there are holsters out there. I haven't looked but they're probably just as difficult to find and I'm not positive about how good they are.

    If you take a look around the web for "CAG Glock" or "CAG G22" you'll find some stuff.

  4. #4
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    Number 5. Seems you have already answered your question. If you still want to go down that road; seek vetted NODs training before spending money on hardware. NODs may not up your "preparedness" they way you believe they will.
    "Knowledge is good." Emil Faber, date unknown.

  5. #5
    Quote Originally Posted by HCM View Post

    Practical issues aside the 6 second mount is out of production and practically a collectible at this point.


    Quote Originally Posted by Cory View Post
    6 second mounts are difficult to find now, mostly because the concept is a bit dated.

    Posting for informational purposes only: Agency Arms makes their version of it that supports several optics including the Micro.
    Doesn't read posts longer than two paragraphs.

  6. #6
    THE THIRST MUTILATOR Nephrology's Avatar
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    I like my ACRO a lot. For what it's worth, my battery life has been great. I got mine in late October '20 and installed the battery that the sight came with. Its' been more or loss constantly on since, generally at the 6-7 brightness setting (out of 10). It's been turned off for maybe a total of 24 hours over the last 25 weeks.

    Just checked it in the safe now, was still able to get up to 10/10 brightness so I assume the battery still has some life left in it. I'm a big fan and if I was going to buy a dot for CCW purposes I'd buy another Acro for sure.

  7. #7
    Quote Originally Posted by Nephrology View Post
    I like my ACRO a lot. For what it's worth, my battery life has been great. I got mine in late October '20 and installed the battery that the sight came with. Its' been more or loss constantly on since, generally at the 6-7 brightness setting (out of 10). It's been turned off for maybe a total of 24 hours over the last 25 weeks.

    Just checked it in the safe now, was still able to get up to 10/10 brightness so I assume the battery still has some life left in it. I'm a big fan and if I was going to buy a dot for CCW purposes I'd buy another Acro for sure.
    When the acro first came out, I was super excited because I’m an aimpoint fanboy. And I thought I’d finally buy my first red dot sight. But the reviews here on PF were awful. I don’t remember specifics, but I recall something about lying about battery life and maybe a durability issue. I just remember being really deflated that aimpoint put out a shit product.

    Are they considered good now? Because I’ll buy a glock MOS and acro and call it good if they are.

  8. #8
    Quote Originally Posted by Jason M View Post
    Number 5. Seems you have already answered your question. If you still want to go down that road; seek vetted NODs training before spending money on hardware. NODs may not up your "preparedness" they way you believe they will.
    Sorry for confusion I meant number 5 (being taking a 100 yard terrorist shot at the mall) isn’t in my CCW threat model so owning an optic on my CCW gun never made sense. But I did take a NODs class two weeks ago and since I didn’t have a red dot or a laser on my handgun, when we did transition drills, I had to look under my NODs and use white light and iron sights which kind of sucked. So my first training class is what led me down this road.

    And realistically wouldn’t be more than 25 yards shot probably but I’d like to be able do do it under NODs even if just for fun and training reps with NODs and IR reticle.

  9. #9
    Site Supporter dontshakepandas's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Sanch View Post
    When the acro first came out, I was super excited because I’m an aimpoint fanboy. And I thought I’d finally buy my first red dot sight. But the reviews here on PF were awful. I don’t remember specifics, but I recall something about lying about battery life and maybe a durability issue. I just remember being really deflated that aimpoint put out a shit product.

    Are they considered good now? Because I’ll buy a glock MOS and acro and call it good if they are.
    They are good, but the battery life is its Achilles heal. I haven't seen any reports of durability issues, but the battery life is substantially less than other options.

    If you are set on a closed emitter and want better battery life, take a look at the Holosun 509t.

  10. #10
    THE THIRST MUTILATOR Nephrology's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Sanch View Post
    When the acro first came out, I was super excited because I’m an aimpoint fanboy. And I thought I’d finally buy my first red dot sight. But the reviews here on PF were awful. I don’t remember specifics, but I recall something about lying about battery life and maybe a durability issue. I just remember being really deflated that aimpoint put out a shit product.

    Are they considered good now? Because I’ll buy a glock MOS and acro and call it good if they are.
    I can only speak for the model that I own, but I am quite happy with it. My ACRO seems to have a slight blue tint to the glass which in reading historical posts may be a new-ish development though I am just speculating based on reading the same negative reports you mention. Not something that was ever announced so I may be totally wrong here.

    Either way the dot is still very bright and I haven't changed the batteries in over 5 months. YMMV

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